Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) had great love for Allah and Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. He participated in almost all the big battles: Badr, Uhud, Ahzab, Khaibar, Hunain etc. In the expedition of Tabuk, he gave half of his wealth in the path of Allah.
He was next to Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him) in the sacrifice of his belongings for the cause of Allah.
Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, also had a deep love for him. Once he remarked, “Were a prophet to come after me, he would have been Umar”.
In another Hadith mentioned in Bukhari, Hazrat Abu Hurairah (, may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, “In Bani Isra’il (Israelites), there were people who were not prophets but talked to Allah. Were anyone in my Ummah like those persons, he would be Umar”.
The death of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was a great shock to him, and he could not believe it until Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him) reminded him of a clear verse of the Holy Qur’an on the subject. He then went to the Council Hall along with Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him) where the people of Madinah had assembled to select the First Caliph.
Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) was the first person to pledge loyalty (Bai’at) at the hand of Hazrat Abu Bakr(, may Allah be pleased with him), and then helped him throughout the duration of his rule.
